Article Abstract:

The aim of this paper is to review the Kaleckian and post-Kaleckian literature on income distribution and economic growth and question the extent to which they analyse countries’ economic regimes and economic performanc- es properly and appropriately to understand countries’ economic performances. The debate focuses on the inclusion of profit margin in the investment function as a way to characterize the effective demand regime in the neoliberal era as a profit-led growth regime. Our argument is that this inclusion is not able to eval- uate properly the countries’ economic growth in terms of the consistency be- tween its effective demand regimes and income distribution.

Article Abstract:

Between 2003 and 2012, South American economies experienced a period of relatively high growth rates. That performance was accompanied by considerable improvements in income distribution and poverty indicators. Nonetheless, structural heterogeneity remained one of the central characteris- tics of these economies. The aim of this paper is to analyze the role income distribution and the productive structure played in the economic growth of Ar- gentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela, for the period between 1990 and 2012.

Article Abstract:

The purpose of this paper is to shed more light on the effects of changes in quality of economic, legal and political institutions on income ine- quality in the advanced countries over the last two decades. Using the robust panel model on a sample of 21 OECD countries, it is found that the impact of elitization of society is more pronounced than the impact of unionization on income redistribution, but both effects are less expressed in comparison to the influence of institutional changes on redistribution. In a globalized economy, insufficient redistribution and high inequality might be interpreted as the conse- quence of institutional inertia to disruptive technological and business changes.

Article Abstract:

This paper analyses responses to supply and demand shocks in PIIGS countries. We compare the results obtained for PIIGS with those of Germany and the USA, and also with those of France, which despite its gov- ernment’s efforts demonstrate relatively poor recent economic performance. The main objective of this paper is to establish whether it is still reasonable to consider PIIGS as a group apart. Our methodological strategy is based on the Okun Law (OL) which is incorporated in a Structural Vector Autoregression (SVAR) model with Blanchard-Quah (BQ) restrictions. We address two draw- backs that usually present in the OL: the interdependency problem and the non-stationarity problem. By using a non-parametric representation of OL, we identify the heterogeneity between countries. We build stable VAR models for each of the economies and use the BQ SVAR impulses to analyse the im- portance of contemporary and long-run effects of supply and demand shocks. The main conclusion of this paper is that it does not make any sense today to identify PIIGS as a separate group. Additionally, a country that stands out from our analysis is France. The question can thus be posed that if “PIIGS” signifies “countries with poor economic performances” then should not France also belong to this group?

Article Abstract:

Although a key condition for the creation of a monetary union is the existence of similar structural characteristics that reduce the existence and incidence of asymmetric shocks, in the case of the Eurozone, most, if not all, studies have emphasized the existence of sizeable divergences both in the macroeconomic performances and in the structural elements of the Eurozone countries. The objective of the paper is to analyse whether the economic and financial crisis that is affecting the Eurozone since the year 2008 has had any impact of the coherence of the Eurozone, that is, whether after 2008 the differ- ences in the macroeconomic performance of the euro counties are declining (convergence) or increasing (divergence).

Article Abstract:

This article presents the results of a survey among more than six hundred bankers in the Netherlands about banking culture. It addresses the question why trust in banks remains so low (45% of clients trust banks in the Netherlands). The key findings indicate that the problem is not so much immor- al bankers or a few rotten apples but rather the dominance of a competitive banking culture. The findings suggest that clients’ trust may be regained when banks leave behind their focus on performance targets, financial incentives, and behavioral regulation and move instead to a caring culture with a focus on relationships and open discussion of ethical dilemma’s.